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BAMAKO, Mali — Islamist fighters in Mali’s city of Timbuktu destroyed a library containing historic manuscripts before they fled advancing French and Malian forces, the town’s mayor said.

The militants attacked a new building of the Ahmed Baba Institute that was opened in 2009 with South African funding, Mayor Halle Ousmane Cisse said yesterdayby phone from Bamako, the capital. They also ransacked the town hall before they started leaving on Friday, he said.

“They have completely destroyed the new center,” he said. “A sizable part of the manuscripts were still in the old center.”

Malian forces have entered Timbuktu, with French forces encircling the city, French military spokesman Thierry Burkhard said. There have been no reports of fighting, but the town isn’t yet under full control, he said in a news conference in Paris.

French and Malian forces now hold the city’s airport, about 4.4 miles from the town center, Mali’s army spokesman, Col. Diarran Kone, said by phone from Bamako.

Fighting alongside Malian and African forces, the French captured another northern town, Gao, 590 miles north of Bamako, on Saturday, France’s Defense Ministry said. Taking full control of Timbuktu would make Kidal the last of three large northern cities the rebels control.

The battle to take a key Gao bridge was “brief and violent” with 15 militants killed, Burkhard said. No prisoners were taken, and no French personnel were injured, he said.

France intervened in Mali on Jan. 11 after Islamist fighters overran the town of Konna, sparking concern that they might advance to Bamako. European and U.S. leaders have said that northern Mali is turning into a haven for Islamist militants intent on attacking Western targets.

Timbuktu is known for three ancient mosques and 16 mausoleums dating as far back as the 15th century, says the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which has designated the desert city a World Heritage site.

Islamist rebels said in July that they were destroying historic buildings in the city because they were “idolatrous.”